


Welcome Distraction

by sleeperbyday



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, One Shot, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29979210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleeperbyday/pseuds/sleeperbyday
Summary: A long day spent pouring over homework leaves Lorenz stressed and irritable. Luckily, there's a carnival in town and Claude knows just how to break him out of the house for one night.
Relationships: Lorenz Hellman Gloucester/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	Welcome Distraction

**Author's Note:**

> quick note!! this was written with high school ages/pre timeskip appearances in mind but i didnt want to tag high school au because it has absolutely no bearing on the plot. i just wanted to write these two going on a cute date together
> 
> thank you as always to my good friend congercine!! you the realest one 💜💛

  
The question on the page stares at him. Taunting him. Mocking him.

Lorenz scowls at his textbook. He’s hardly moved for twenty minutes, all because of one infuriating string of words on the last page of his homework. He rereads it once more to no avail and clenches his pen in his fist, squeezing until his nails dig into his palm, before releasing it with a huff.

How childish, to take out his frustration on his innocent, inanimate stationary. How ridiculous, to act as though his frustration is the result of anything other than his own ineptitude.

A sudden tapping sound at the window startles him and his frown deepens. It’s a sound that he’s become more than acquainted with over the school year and right now he has half a mind to ignore it. But, his mind tells him, that has never worked before and almost certainly won’t now, so Lorenz rolls his eyes and opens the window.

Claude tumbles inside and dusts himself off, grinning broadly all the while. There’s a leaf in his wind-tousled hair and Lorenz nearly reaches to pluck it out.

“How many times have I told you not to invite yourself over and expect me to let you in?” He says instead, hands on hips.

“How many times have you let me in anyway?” Claude shoots back playfully.

This bizarre song and dance has become little more than routine by now. After failing to endear himself to Father and Mother, Claude decided that the best way to avoid them when he wished to come over was, of all things, to climb up to the second floor and enter through Lorenz’s bedroom window. Lorenz had nearly fallen out of his chair the first time, raised an eyebrow the second, didn’t so much as blink the third. Claude is utterly baffling when he wants to be, as has become abundantly clear since they met.

Perhaps that is why Lorenz fell for him.

“Never mind that. What is it you want? I’m rather busy tonight,” Lorenz gestures pointedly to the desk where his abandoned books lay.

“Leave the homework. Grab a jacket and let’s go out, you and me,” Claude states, as though that doesn’t just raise more questions.

Lorenz stares.

“Did you perhaps get lost on your way to see Hilda? I’m certain that she is far more agreeable to unplanned, late-night invitations than I.”

“Maybe, but she isn’t in need of a break like you are,” Claude mirrors the stare, his smile vanishing and his eyes hardening. “Don’t act like you don’t know,” he adds, before Lorenz can demand just what in the world _that_ is supposed to mean. “You’re overdoing it again, aren’t you? I can see it on your face every day. When was the last time you let yourself take it easy for one night, without thinking about homework or finals or college?”

If Claude had asked him that months or years ago, Lorenz would have bristled, denied the claim, and pointed him to the door, then proceeded to spend the rest of the night sulking.

But, times have changed since the beginning, and all Lorenz can do is avert his eyes and breathe out a weary sigh that fails to alleviate the strain on his shoulders. As always, Claude knows more than he lets on.

“You may have a point,” Lorenz mutters, a weak protest with no bite to it, “but I cannot leave this work undone simply because I do not feel like completing it.”

“Why not?” Claude frowns, shoving his hands in his front pocket. Despite the absurdity of such a simple question, it’s genuine and not one meant to provoke Lorenz for once. “It’s not going anywhere and you have until the end of the week to hand it in.”

His points are getting harder to argue with, Lorenz realises as he glances down at his textbook. The question he remained stuck on leers back and he snaps it shut, feeling his head throb. It’s been a gruelling evening; some time away to clear his head may be just what he needs.

“Do not make me regret this,” he concedes.

Claude’s beaming smile lights up the room. The last of Lorenz’s reluctance evaporates at the sight and he turns to retrieve a suitable coat before standing to meet Claude’s expectant gaze.

And then, with all of his usual grace, Claude climbs out and onto the roof, back from where he came.

Lorenz does not follow him.

“Out the window?”

Claude pokes his head back inside, resting his arms on the windowsill.

“How else are you going to get out, the front door?” He smiles wryly; that’s not an option and they both know it. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.”

Lorenz wants to say it’s not the fall he’s worried about. His friendship with Claude has broadened his horizons in ways he previously never thought possible, a fact he is usually grateful for.

Usually.

Though he has never been so brazen as to sneak out of the house, doing so will hardly be the first irresponsible and foolish thing he will have done in recent times.

And yet…

“Hey,” Claude’s soft voice throws him out of his reverie. “This is supposed to be fun. If it's something you don’t want to do, nobody’s going to force you.”

“No,” the refusal comes quicker and louder than Lorenz intends. “I have already agreed to join you. This is simply new to me. That is all.”

With nothing more than a deep breath, he throws caution to the wind and takes Claude’s waiting hand, using the newfound support to hoist himself over the windowsill. Lorenz gasps as his legs wobble on the unexpectedly-slippery roof shingles and Claude grabs his shoulder, stilling him. He’s perfectly steady, Lorenz notices - he’s lost count of how many times they’ve had these impromptu meetings, but they’ve clearly had enough for Claude to grow accustomed to walking on the shingles.

They shuffle them away from the window, Claude’s grip on Lorenz’s hand tight and secure until he drops it to grasp onto a drainpipe running out from the bathroom. Lorenz misses the warmth and stability instantly, but he hardly has time to mourn the loss when Claude steps from the roof and slides expertly down the pipe.

“Now you!” He calls from the lawn below, arms outstretched as if expecting Lorenz to leap directly into them.

Lorenz glances at the pipe, at Claude, at the pipe. He received a demonstration so this should be easy. All he has to do is hold tightly with one hand and then the other. Step with one foot and then the other…

He’s moving then, quickly, suddenly, and Lorenz grits his teeth to keep from crying out and alerting the entire street, let alone his parents inside the house. The ground rushes up to catch him and he comes to a stop with a grunt of surprise.

He did it.

He successfully escaped from his own house, reaching the height of defiance in the process.

“Not bad for a first-timer,” Claude says approvingly, clapping him on the back. “How’s it feel walking on the wild side for once?”

“Exhilarating,” Lorenz breathes, heart racing. A disbelieving laugh spills from his chest. All of his fears from a more naive time in his life were clearly for naught if breaking the carefully crafted set of rules laid out rewarded him with excitement the likes of which he’s never known before.

“I guess that means we’ll just have to keep doing it, then,” Claude retracts his hand with a strange smile. “But, in the meantime, let’s see where tonight takes us.”

The lingering thrill doesn’t leave Lorenz until well after they’ve left the suburbs. Claude already seems to have a destination in mind, one that he stubbornly refuses to share, and the sky grows darker and the moon rises higher as they press onward. The night is brisk, but Lorenz doesn’t complain - not when the air between them is filled with carefree laughter and lighthearted conversation.

He isn’t sure how long they’ve been walking or how far from home they are by the time brightly coloured lights appear in the corner of his eye. The conversation pauses as Lorenz looks ahead to see flashing neon signs, hear the clamouring of a distant crowd, smell an assortment of fried food and sugary sweets.

“We’re here,” Claude says from behind, and Lorenz knows without looking that he’s grinning.

Lorenz gapes, his eyes wide before they narrow in confusion. “A carnival? I have never been to any such events.”

“No need to look like that. There’s something for everyone in there, even someone unused to the concept of fun like yourself. And,” Claude’s eyes sparkle as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out two slips of paper, “we get to skip the admission line.”

Lorenz rolls his eyes at the jab, letting himself be led past the ticket counter and inside the park. As he looks around, Claude’s reasons for bringing him here are beyond him, though he cannot help but feel touched by the sentiment.

They walk side by side, Lorenz’s eyes darting around to take in the sights while Claude makes a beeline for the nearest snack vendor. The box of popcorn he leaves with is monstrous and his smile is joyous as he persuades Lorenz to try some. Pitted against such trickery, Lorenz is powerless to refuse, even if the morsel’s overly salty taste has him immediately reaching for the bottle of water Claude made fun of him for buying.

As they round a corner, the brick path of the entranceway opens into the wide expanse of the fairground. This time, Lorenz is the first to stop walking when his eyes are immediately pulled upwards. These must be the rides the brochure he was handed at the entrance boasted about. Large machinery that rises up and drops from a great height, that speeds along a thin and precarious track, that spins about and turns upside down, all adorned by bright, shining lights and screams of excitement from occupants.

The sight is as mesmerising as it is bewildering and Lorenz turns away before the excess motion can make him feel sick to his stomach. A few feet away, in a decidedly calmer area of the park, Claude’s attention has been captured by some sort of game.

Lorenz approaches him, a brow raised. “What are you doing?”

“It’s a sideshow,” Claude swings the plastic contraption in his hands. “If I can pop a balloon with this toy bow, I win a stuffed animal.”

“Five dollars for three shots, ten dollars for eight. How about it, Stretch?” An unkempt and bored looking man who appears to be the host chimes in.

”I think not,” Lorenz wrinkles his nose in distaste, eyeing the assortment of poorly-crafted plush animals. “Claude, hurry and play your game then let us be off.”

Claude says nothing, intensely focused on aiming the child-sized bow. Lorenz feels a smile slip onto his face before he can help it, growing wider until his cheeks hurt and he’s struggling to not laugh aloud and disrupt Claude’s concentration. The sharp, sudden sound of a balloon bursting makes him jump and he composes himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

After exchanging a few words with the host that Lorenz doesn’t particularly care to hear, Claude claims his prize.

The breath Lorenz just took in leaves him in a fit of laughter.

Claude stares, his face utterly blank as he leans forward to support the weight of a humongous plush bear on his back. Lorenz laughs until his shoulders shake and tears bead at the corners of his eyes and he’s forgotten himself. He would never have felt such joy hunched over his work desk, straining his eyes at homework that now seems so insignificant. He would never have felt so at ease, had anyone but Claude brought him on this adventure.

As they leave the sideshow games behind, Lorenz’s laughter subsides but his smile remains, melting from wide, humoured, and unabashed to something small, yet grateful and fond. Adoring. Loving. He has never felt love before, but he’s sure these euphoric feelings welling up within him must be so. Love for a man thoughtful enough to bring him out on an unforgettable night of new experiences and chase away his dark mood the way Claude knows best.

Yes, Lorenz certainly loves Claude. At any other time, such a realisation would strike fear into his heart, but emotions like fear or embarrassment or shame feel so far away, and Lorenz instead lets the knowledge wrap around him like a blanket, his smile relaxed and his face pleasantly warm.

“I have not felt like that in quite some time,” he sighs contentedly.

“Glad I could be of service,” Claude beams up at him. “But who’d have thought that a giant stuffed animal would do you in? If you like it that much, feel free to take it home with—“

“Perish the thought. I will not allow such a ridiculous thing anywhere near my home,” Lorenz cuts him off, cold and serious despite mirroring Claude’s smile back at him.

“Can we at least take turns carrying it?”

At such a request, Lorenz can only scoff, though it’s drowned out by a chorus of shouts from above. He looks up, realising that they’ve wandered into the furthest and liveliest corner of the fairground. A series of carts above them zips over their tracks wildly, twisting and turning while its riders whoop and cheer. Lorenz winces.

“Just between you and me, I don’t think roller coasters are really your thing,” Claude comments as though reading his mind, craning his head around to inspect the other attractions in the vicinity. “Or gravity gauntlets, or ghost trains, or high drops.”

“What would you recommend instead?” Lorenz looks away just before the roller coaster can fly through a loop on the track, mouth twisted with disdain. Even though he hadn’t meant to limit their options, he cannot help but agree that ‘fun’ would be the last word he’d use to describe any of the masochistic contraptions on this side of the fairground.

Claude pauses, thinks, then snaps his fingers. “Let’s go find the teacup ride.”

So they do, settling into a relaxed pace while searching for something that could be classified as a ‘teacup ride’. Lorenz isn’t sure what to expect from the pleasant-sounding name, but a ride clearly aimed towards children, and young ones at that, isn’t it.

He tries to glare, but his good mood simply cannot be shaken in Claude’s company, and he’s sure the end result looks as unconvincing as it feels.

“Claude. Have I told you tonight how incredibly foolish you are?”

“And here I was just trying to find something you’d enjoy. There’s just no pleasing some people, is there?” Claude makes a show of rolling his eyes and sighing dramatically. He recovers quickly, eyes sparkling as they settle on something over Lorenz’s shoulder. “Let’s compromise. Ride the Ferris wheel with me and if it’s not to your liking, we’ll call it a night.”

Lorenz turns, following Claude’s line of sight. A short ways away, an enormous wheel rests comfortably in the middle of the fairground, rotating at a leisurely pace. Each one of its many support beams glows with the same bright lights adorning the other rides, creating a positively radiant display of colour against the night sky. Slow and sensible, yet a sight to behold nonetheless.

Surely there is nothing else in the park more ‘to his liking’ than this Ferris wheel. Lorenz knows and Claude undoubtedly does as well. So, with a warm smile, he looks back and eyes Claude over his shoulder.

“Very well. I gladly accept your terms.”

The line is long but time seems to fly by as they edge closer and closer to the front and, eventually, they're directed to an open seat. Claude is forbidden from bringing along that horrendous bear plush—something that Lorenz is quietly grateful for—so he sets it aside before seating himself beside Lorenz and the ride operator locks the safety bar.

The wheel moves and any words Lorenz may have had leave him in a soft gasp. They rise, slowly but surely, until they reach the summit where the carnival stretches out all around them. The view is astounding; shining lights and a rainbow of colours dance before Lorenz’s eyes, a sight that rivals the twinkling stars and crescent moon overlooking it all. It doesn’t last for long before they find themselves being brought back down to the bottom of the wheel, but Lorenz hardly has room for disappointment—not when he’ll see it again in a few moments time.

“Quite the worthwhile experience, wouldn’t you say?” Claude says at his side.

Still without his words, Lorenz turns to him and pours all of his appreciation and amazement into one look. Claude is leaning forward in the seat the way the operator told them not to, his elbow resting atop the safety bar and his cheek buried in a palm. His eyes are half-lidded and relaxed, his smile a barely-there quirk of his lips. Inviting.

“‘Worthwhile’ is rather the understatement,” Lorenz breathes. He isn’t sure if Claude is talking about the Ferris wheel or the night in its entirety but his reply rings true regardless. “I cannot remember the last time I felt such enjoyment.”

“That’s all I wanted tonight, you know.”

The wheel comes to a stop, fitting for the abruptness of that statement and the way Claude sits up, suddenly serious. Lorenz swallows, unable to look away from the fire burning in his eyes.

“I-is that so?”

“It is,” Claude takes in a breath, managing a tiny smile as he grips the safety bar. “I love you, Lorenz, and I’d do anything to see you smile.”

Lorenz stares, disbelieving, until they begin to move again. His hands tremble in tandem with his pounding heart. But Claude, as ever, is patient, and Lorenz feels a smile of his own warm him from the inside out.

“I love you as well, Claude. More than anything.”

Claude beams, like all the world’s tension has been lifted from his shoulders. “I’ve waited so long to hear you say that.”

The sentiment nearly forces the air from Lorenz’s lungs a second time. Briefly, he wants to feel embarrassed or irritated at himself for missing some sort of cue somewhere, but the instinct is overridden by the feeling that the way everything has fallen into place is undeniably perfect.

“Oh, dear. Have I kept you waiting? My apologies.”

“Never mind that. Come here, would you?”

The plea sounds playful but Lorenz obeys anyway, shifting as close as he can manage. Claude meets him halfway, his arms looping around Lorenz’s neck and their breath mingling together.

“Much better,” Claude murmurs against Lorenz’s lips, an invitation that he would accept a million times over.

And so he does, inching forward ever so slightly until they’re as one. Claude grins as he responds fervently, his lips soft and his hands wandering. One arm snakes down and around Lorenz’s waist and the other slides up to the back of his head, each touch a brand new sensation so surreal it borders on overwhelming.

The kiss stretches on until Lorenz is breathless and shivering, but Claude is relentless. When he feels the first press of a tongue, Lorenz lets out what can only be described as a squeak but grants him entry anyway, wrapping his arms around Claude’s shoulders. The inside of his mouth is soft like velvet, hot like fire, and Lorenz doubts he will ever tire of the feeling.

They reluctantly separate just as the wheel comes to another stop. This time, however, it’s coupled by a loud clang and Lorenz jumps as the world around them fades back in from oblivion. They’re at the bottom of the wheel, the safety bar raised and the ride operator looking extremely unimpressed.

“Ah,” is all Lorenz can utter as realisation dawns. Impressive the grand view at the top may be, but Claude had not allowed him the chance to appreciate it for very long.

Still, he’s far from disappointed as he pushes himself up from the seat. He’s unsteady on his legs and takes gladly Claude’s hand when it’s offered, not letting go even after he finds his balance.

“Well,” Claude is the first to break the long yet comfortable silence that follows, “I’d say tonight’s been a roaring success, wouldn’t you?”

“Indeed. We shall have to do this again sometime,” Lorenz sighs, satisfaction shining through the exhaustion seeping into his limbs. He pulls his phone from his pocket, it and all other distractions forgotten until now, and blinks at the late hour it shows him. “But, alas, we’d best depart soon if we wish to sleep at all tonight.”

It’s regrettable, but they can only allow so much of the night to slip away. As they follow the path they walked only a few short hours before, Lorenz feels Claude’s hand caress his own and all traces of bittersweetness leave him. They reach their goal and Claude leaves him with one more sweet kiss before disappearing into the night.

The walk from the front door to his bedroom is quiet but not lonely, and only the darkness is witness to Lorenz’s smile as the promise for next time lulls him to a blissful sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> *looks at my last work* AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT


End file.
